Share the experiences of ‘The Boys Next Door’
The way in which we interact with the world around us varies widely from person to person. For some people, interacting with the world around them (and the people who inhabit it) can be easy, like a walk in the park. For others, interactions can be a lot more difficult and may even require some practice.
The Ringgold Playhouse is going to give an inside look into the different interactions of four very unique young men with their production of “The Boys Next Door”, which opens Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m.
“The Boys Next Door”, written by Tom Griffin and first produced in 1988, tells the story of four mentally disabled men who share a communal apartment in New England. The production aims to show the character of each of the boys and it helps to shed light on what they go through in their day-to-day lives.
It also focuses on how the boys interact, both with their caretaker, Jack, and other people in the world around them. While the nature of the show may seem serious, there are lots of comedic elements found throughout the production.
The Ringgold Playhouse’s production of “The Boys Next Door” is directed by Renee Lierow. The cast of ten started rehearsals on March 22. Lierow said the entire cast has been extremely dedicated to representing the boys of “The Boys Next Door” in the best way possible.
“I’ve been telling my cast a lot that it’s very easy, when you do a play and make characters out of everybody, to make caricatures out of them. And the other thing I tell them is that we want to make [the characters] fun, but we don’t ever want to think we are making fun of them. So that’s super important to us, and we’ve been keeping to that,” Lierow explained.
“We actually have a counselor on our cast, so she has been working with us to make sure we’re being as true as we can to respect and honor these people. And that it doesn’t come across ever that we’re, in any way, making fun of anybody.”
In addition to the importance of accurately representing the characters, The Ringgold Playhouse’s production of “The Boys Next Door” will also be an audience-interactive show. Lierow explained that the boys will actually step out of character to directly address the audience about what they’re thinking or why they’re doing something, in order to make the audience feel like they are truly a part of this show.
“One of the coolest things we’re going to get to do for this particular show is that part of our set is actually in the audience, the dance hall. So the audience is going to be surrounded by these guys, and they’re going to be in the midst of them,” Lierow said.
“At TRP, we have never actually done this type of thing before; we’re having a middle aisle for the first time. So this is a new step out of the box for us, and we’re super excited about it. And I felt like it was really important, because this show does talk to the audience so much, that we include them as much as possible.”
The cast is made up of mostly veterans at TRP, but four actors are making their debut with “The Boys Next Door”. Lierow explained that the actors portraying the boys and the rest of the cast have all been incredible to work with.
Their rehearsal schedule has been about six weeks, but Lierow said the cast have bonded so much that they all went out to dinner the other night, just to sit down, talk about the show, and get to know each other even better.
“[Now that rehearsals are nearing their end] I just want to say thank you to Adam Cook, who is our executive producer; we want to thank him so much for allowing us to tell this story. And thank you to our cast and crew. Because a director is only good if there’s good people behind them. I appreciate them more than they can possibly know,” Lierow said.
“The Boys Next Door” opens Thursday evening at the historic Ringgold Depot, and will also be performed April 26–27 and May 2–4 at 7:30 p.m. There will be a Saturday matinee show on May 4 at 2 p.m. as well.
Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased online or at the door. If you’ve ever wanted a chance to feel like you’re part of a show without being up on stage, interacting with the audience and experiencing both the humorous and serious moments with the cast, then you definitely don’t want to miss this production.